Seeing Su Yunling standing there, staring at her for a long time without moving, Gu Zhiqi raised her eyebrows and said with a smile, "It’s been less than a month since we last parted, right? So, you don’t recognize..."

Before Gu Zhiqi could finish her sentence, Su Yunling’s long arm reached over, and Gu Zhiqi was pulled into Su Yunling’s embrace, and then a head rested on her shoulder.

Shallow breaths sounded in Gu Zhiqi’s ear, Su Yunling’s scent spreading towards her, soon surrounding her completely, his arms tightening around her.

Gu Zhiqi felt completely surrounded.

A bit novel, yet reassuring and enthralling.

Gu Zhiqi gently moved her head, looked up at Su Yunling, but was pushed back into his embrace. "Let me hold you for a moment."

Gu Zhiqi’s eyebrows and lashes fluttered slightly. She leaned her head against Su Yunling’s chest and spoke, "How long is ’a moment’?"

Su Yunling: "..."

He didn’t speak, just held her in his arms and gently rubbed the top of her head with his chin.

"Brother?" Seeing Su Yunling silent, Gu Zhiqi spoke again.

"Hmm." This time, Su Yunling responded and released the hand holding the back of Gu Zhiqi’s head.

Feeling the pressure on the back of her head disappear, Gu Zhiqi immediately looked up slightly at Su Yunling, and asked, "Are you a poppy personified?"

Su Yunling: ?

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

Gu Zhiqi: "Because I seem to be addicted to you."

Su Yunling: "..."

His heart felt like a stone had been thrown into it, rippling with waves upon waves.

Because of Gu Zhiqi’s words, Su Yunling paused for a moment. After a while, he finally said, "I hope I am."

Su Yunling’s hand moved to the side of Gu Zhiqi’s face, gently cradling it, lowering his gaze slightly so Gu Zhiqi met his eyes. He then spoke tenderly, "I hope I’m a poppy personified, making you addicted forever, never able to quit."

Gu Zhiqi looked steadily at Su Yunling, without saying a word.

She just felt like her mind became sluggish, with a background tune endlessly echoing, "You’re done for, you’ve fallen in love."

It’s over. Seems like I’ve been charmed in return.

Gu Zhiqi’s gaze was fixed intently on Su Yunling, her eyes showing love and heat without hiding it, not extremely fiery, yet hot enough to make one’s heart burn.

Su Yunling couldn’t handle such a gaze at all, watching Gu Zhiqi’s eyes, his own gaze suddenly darkened.

His hands unconsciously cradled Gu Zhiqi’s face, then gently bent down, finally planting a kiss on her forehead.

The warmth on her forehead brought Gu Zhiqi back to her senses, looking up slightly at Su Yunling.

Her heart seemed to feel a little scorched, sensing every cell in her body screaming with delight.

But she could also sense an inner unease, having never experienced anything like this before; ever since he stirred her heart, she felt increasingly out of control.

As if sensing Gu Zhiqi’s unease, Su Yunling softly asked, "What’s wrong? Don’t you like this feeling?"

Gu Zhiqi shook her head, then wrapped her arms around Su Yunling’s waist, feeling a bit frustrated, yet curious, "It’s so strange."

"I don’t like the feeling of losing control, but just now, I clearly felt the joy in my heart."

"Because of the loss of control, I feel a bit uneasy, but with you here, I feel very at ease."

Listening to Gu Zhiqi, Su Yunling paused slightly, then chuckled softly, the laughter indulgent yet a bit helpless.

This is... an awakening, but not fully awakened.